Dancing
by soverysesual
Summary: Danny reflects on the times he's danced with or without Mindy and what it has meant for them. One-shot. This is a fluffy piece that I've been dying to write. Contains spoilers from 2x11.


He thinks it's funny that Mindy likes his dancing so much when after all, she's a part of it too.

He's certainly noticed that dancing seems to be frequently involved in very significant moments in their relationship.

The first was when they all went to the club as a staff, and he could finally be himself in front of her, and instead of teasing him, she was impressed and complimented his moves. He sometimes thinks that this is what really kicks off the "friendship era" of their relationship, because she starts to respect his weird quirks and he learns to respect hers and it's really a mutual understanding that he's not used to but he likes it. It's a lot less work to be nice to her than to be mean to her, and so when the opportunity for things to change between them presents itself, he takes it.

The next time dancing is involved is that damn Christmas party at Mindy's where they learn that Josh is the worst and not just that he cheated, but that he made Mindy look like the one in the wrong in front of all of her friends and colleagues. Danny will probably never forgive Josh for what he did to Mindy, but he's also a little bit grateful that Josh had screwed up so bad. Because, when it came down to it, Danny had been there for Mindy and Danny was the one who took charge and picked up the pieces. He kept her grounded and made her feel better. Danny had been cheated on, too, after all. Finally they were not only on the same page, but they were actually friends who could count on each other to be there. He'll never forget how she pulled him away from the gingerbread house that was destroyed by Heather. Their dance to Jeremy singing "La Bamba" was a quick and simple one, but he could tell that Mindy was no longer just a colleague he respected. She was his friend, now, and things moving forward would be different.

They don't dance for another year, until this time it's just him at the next Christmas party, as his gift to her. Not just a gift, however. It was supposed to be a clue, to show her that not only does her consider her to be his best friend now, but that he has feelings for her, and he hopes she'll take the hint. And this dance is completely solo, which is an interesting reflection of the state of their relationship, since at this point he's the only one who has figured out that these feelings are beyond friendship now. And sure, she ended up with Cliff at the end of the night, but Danny's feelings still exist. Cliff's just cutting in for a moment, and if Danny has anything to say about it, Mindy'll be back dancing with him in no time.

—-

When Cliff breaks up with Mindy, Danny's there, just like planned to be, though "no time" ended up being a bit longer that he would've liked, but he waited and he was certainly not regretting anything.

He finds her out in the courtyard late one night shortly after the breakup, looking out over the side of the brick wall at the buildings around her. She hears him approach and neither of them say anything. He slips his suit jacket off and places it over her shoulders and as he does so, she leans softly into his embrace and he picks up on her hint and holds her close to him. She doesn't cry, but he understands that she's still sad and that she still feels the weight of another failed relationship on her shoulders.

Suddenly, they hear music coming from an office nearby. It's just loud enough for them to hear, and weirdly enough it's "This I Promise You" by *NSYNC and Mindy sighs a little when she realizes what song it is, since it used to be one of her favorites. And Danny smiles and whispers in her ear,

"Can I have this dance?"

And now they're slow dancing to the music in the distance and her head is resting on his chest and he's wondering if she's picking up on the universe's message as they listen to the lyrics. They keep swaying and turning and Mindy is finally starting to feel more relaxed than she's felt in a very long time.

But the noises of the city are starting to pick up and Mindy starts to worry that they won't be able to hear the song anymore and the moment will be ruined. And as if he read her mind, Danny surprises her, just like always does, and starts to sing along to a song she'd never guess he'd know the words to in a million years.

"_Over and over I fall when I hear you call. Without you in my life, baby, I just wouldn't be living at all._"

And he even begins to hum the instrumental part and Mindy's overwhelmed by everything and clings to him even more, trying to hold in the tears.

"_And I will take you in my arms_," he's whispering now, because it's not really a song anymore it's him finally just laying it all out there through the lyrics and he's wondering what in the world he did to deserve to be this lucky. "_And hold you right where you belong. Till the day my life is through, this I promise you._"

They can hear the music again but just barely, and Danny stops singing and just rests his head on Mindy's. They're not really even swaying anymore but it doesn't really matter because this is the best either of them have felt in a long, long time. And as Justin Timberlake's falsetto fades out and a new song starts playing that's fast enough to blend in with the other sounds around them, they finally stop swaying completely and she's finally letting out her emotions and just crying into Danny's chest.

"Hey, I've got you, Min. It's gonna be okay," he reassures her and she nods and says "I know," quietly back to him and after several moments she composes herself and is able to look at Danny.

"I'm not really sure what you're thinking right now, Danny, but I'm pretty sure I'm falling in love with you and I just really need you to know that before we move forward," she whispers and she plays with his tie and starts to nervously stiffen up as she fears that maybe he wasn't on the same page as her. He sighs and he can't help but laugh just a little at how blunt she is about it, especially after how hard and how long he's being trying to slowly show her how he feels. She looks up at him a little confused but he just shakes his head to indicate that he wasn't laughing at what she was trying to say and then he finally lifts he chin up toward him and kisses her.

After they kiss for a while and after she teases him a bit for knowing all of the words to an *NSYNC song, they agree to go back to his apartment and try out a whole new kind of dancing.

Or maybe instead they'll just fall asleep and they can save it for later when both of them have finally stopped worrying about whether or not this will actually work between them.

Because Danny's confident that no matter what happens, he and Mindy will find a way to keep their dance going.

—

***a/n*** I'm not really sure WHY I chose to use an *NSYNC song for them to slow dance to, but I felt that it fit with the theme after the whole "Try Again" throwback. Not to mention Danny Castellano is essentially a little bit of a mini boy band all in one with his sweet moves am I right? :P Anyhoo please review if you feel so inclined I'm not really sure how this one ended up coming out so I'd really appreciate some feedback.


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